Year 12 Co-ordinator's Final Day Address
23-10-09
It is my privilege today to address Year 12 on their final day of school here at PLC.
Girls, at the beginning of this year I encouraged you to do three things:
Be here, go to class, do your work
I tried to persuade you that success would be yours if you followed this advice & many of you did. You met your obligations, took responsibility for your actions and worked hard. Your reward for your efforts is just around the corner.
But this is not a day to look back.
You must look forward to what the future holds for you.
After some revision time & a few exams, there will be a number less than 100 assigned to your name which will be very important to you for a while. This number will help you decide your preferences for study or otherwise and by late January or early February you will have sorted out what you will be doing for 2010.
I actually want you to think further ahead than next year & consider where you might be in 5 or 10 years time?
What is it that you have learnt at PLC that will still be relevant for you then?
Many students over the years have asked me "when am I ever going to use this in real life?"
My answer is usually " well perhaps never!”
This seems to surprise students a bit but then I explain that it's hard to predict what you are going to need to know or work out in the future. It is not our job to teach you the exact details of what you think now that you might need in the future and by default leave everything else out!!
The knowledge you acquire at school will be overwhelmed by what you learn once you leave PLC . Our aims have been to encourage in you a love of learning,
to provide opportunities for you to think & understand, to problem solve and be creative, opportunities for you to be active, to work in teams, to be of service & to lead. It is these qualities that will be of benefit to you in the years ahead
and it's opportunities to develop these qualities that have been provided for you here at PLC since the day you arrived.
So just what will you be doing in 5 to 10 years time?
Well it's up to you isn't it?
You will head off in a certain direction & perhaps you will keep going & end up exactly where you thought you always would. Or perhaps you will discover that what you thought you wanted is definitely not for you & there is something else that provokes your interest & inspires your passion.
I look forward to hearing about where your life’s journey takes you.
But let's put academic things aside for now & focus on you as a person. What advice might be helpful to you as you mature into well-rounded & well-educated young women? There would be those who would say that: “Advice, like youth, is wasted on the young” but I’d like to offer you three things.
Firstly: KNOW THYSELF– get to know yourself
Take the time to consider the great questions of life: Who am I? How can I be truly happy? How can I be at peace?
What is the purpose of my life?
It was Socrates who said “an unexamined life is not worth living” So take time to reflect. We need to know our own nature and to live in accordance with that nature. It is automatic for human beings to form thoughts, opinions and beliefs, and these set the pattern for our lives.
Who are you? What do you stand for? What would you stand up for?
It's only through knowing yourself that you will be able to make the most of the opportunities that are out there for you.
Secondly: KEEP THINKING - seems a bit obvious doesn't it - but I don't mean just thinking as you are learning but thinking as you go about the business of your daily life.
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.” says Buddha
I urge you to: Keep your mind open – free from prejudice, one-sided views and other habits that close the mind and make it unwilling to consider new problems and ideas. Be whole hearted in your approach to whatever you take on in the future. Immerse yourself in your studies and activities. Genuine enthusiasm is an attitude that operates as an intellectual force.
Be intellectually responsible – always consider the consequences of a projected step. Be willing to adopt those consequences & carry things through to their completion
Thirdly: take care of your relationsips
It is those closest to you who will support you no matter what and it's always comforting to maintain contact with those who knew you as you were growing up.
Your family comes to mind here. They may be thinking even at this very minute that the daughter they have known for 17 years has been replaced on earth by some neurotic devil-child. After your exams it is time to reconnect with your family thank them for their support, and enjoy their company. Your friends will also have supported you through this year. Don’t forget to thank those who have given you their friendship and advice and stay in contact with them.
In closing Intellectual, Oliver Holmes, has said:
“Many people leave this world with their music still in them?
Why is this so?"
That’s a life of potential never reached. Girls –never let this be said of you. Always strive to achieve your full potential. As you leave PLC today, my very best wishes go with you.
God bless.
Mrs Bernadette Coultas (Year 12 Co-ordinator, 2009)
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